HARTFORD, CT - Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that he is ordering a special election to fill the position of Probate Judge for the New Haven Probate District to be held on the same date of the next general election on Tuesday, November 7, 2017.

The special election is necessary due to the announcement that the current office holder, Probate Judge Jack Keyes, has chosen to retire from the position in January 2018. The winner of November’s special election will assume the position in January and fill the remainder of that district’s four-year term.

This will bring the total number of special elections for probate judge that are being held this November to five. Earlier this year, Governor Malloy ordered four other special elections to be held on that same date, all due to the current office holders reaching the state’s mandatory retirement age of 70 for judges. These include the Meriden Probate District, the Saybrook Probate District, the Tobacco Valley Probate District, and the Waterbury Probate District.

Under state law, upon a vacancy for Judge of Probate, the Governor is required to issue a Writ of Election and select a date for an election. In order to facilitate cost efficiencies for the impacted towns and cities, Governor Malloy decided that it was best to hold the special elections on the same date as the next general election.